The macrolide compounds used in this invention are known and disclosed, for example, in European Patent Publication No. 0184162 and International Publication No. WO 89/05304.
These known macrolide compounds include the fermentation products, such as FR-900506, FR-900520, FR-900523 and FR-900525 which were isolated from microorganisms belonging to genus Streptomyces, such as Streptomyces tsukubaensis No. 9993 (FERM BP-927) or Streptomyces hygroscopicus subsp. yakushimaensis No. 7238 (FERM BP-928), and their related compounds prepared from these fermentation products.
These macrolide compounds were indicated inter alia for use in the treatment of rejection to transplantation, autoimmune diseases and infectious diseases caused, for example, by Aspergillus, Fusarium, Trichophyton, and the like.